


Phoenix's origin

by grimalkinInferno



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: Fake AH Crew, GTA AU, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, MadHouse Misfits, Vagabond's Vagabonds, but only like a couple sentences, life of crime
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 10:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9175972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grimalkinInferno/pseuds/grimalkinInferno
Summary: Phoenix.That was their name. No matter what anyone said, no matter how blood-related, no matter how good-natured or ignorant they were, that was their name.And they would paint that name in an eternal tapestry of fire if they had to.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i spat this out in like three hours bcause tabi inspired me and shit ENJOOY  
> lemme know if i should add some tags

Phoenix.

They grinned as they mulled the name over in their head. They watched their mouth twist up in the mirror. Yes, Phoenix. They bent down to the floor, where a red cape and hood lay, and donned it, twirling in the mirror experimentally. They just as soon removed it. It was cliché, they knew. Perhaps another time.

But that name… it meant power. They leaned forward, gazing into the sink, still half-clogged with muck from a family of four and not enough motivation. The name meant something more to them than anyone could ever know. It meant rejuvenation, determination, fire, passion, elegance, ferociousness, loyalty, freedom, cunning, mysticism, and so many other things that they wanted to be.

They looked up again at their disheveled state. An orange hoodie worn too many days in a row. Fingerless gloves that never seemed to stay on right. Black horn-rimmed frames, slightly crooked on their big nose. Half-lidded eyes with bags and circles that never seemed to fade, but when opened just enough, they could see the light that shone in their mismatched pupils under full eyebrows. Bed-hair that was just a bit too long, hastily cut with kitchen scissors in the mirror in futile attempts to tame it. Swept to the right. Always the right.

Most people might’ve seen an outcast. A mangy teen. A freeloader, even. But to them, there was potential in those eyes. Potential they were determined to reach, no matter who they needed to burn to get there.

Phoenix.

That was their name. No matter what anyone said, no matter how blood-related, no matter how good-natured or ignorant they were, that was their name.

And they would paint that name in an eternal tapestry of fire if they had to.

-

*BANG*

That was it. The sound was final enough to stun them. It’d been a long time coming, but the old man had finally done it. The cold, unfeeling door stood indifferent to Phoenix’s inner turmoil, once so warm and inviting. It was impossible not to think of the nights they stayed out too late in the snow, chilled to their tiny bones, and that door had meant warmth and welcome and…

No. Not anymore. They had to find a new home now.

They turned abruptly. It’d been a long time coming, anyway. They adjusted their backpack on their shoulders, trying to use it to their advantage against the chilly wind blowing in. Suddenly, they wished they had their cloak. They didn’t usually wear it in public, but it was incredibly warm. Warm and soft and familiar and…

“No,” they hissed. Now was not the time. They had to find some place to stay. Or at least someplace to get out of the cold.

They had just started stalking down the driveway when the door opened again.

Phoenix froze, too scared to think of what their parents might want to say as a final word. It was probably their mom. She always wanted the last word edge-wise. So it came as a surprise when they weren’t commanded to turn around. Instead, Phoenix watched as a familiar brown head of hair came into view, holding something red.

“Julia…?” they asked.

Their sister only smiled wryly. “You forgot your cloak,” she said, holding out the red cloth to them.

They immediately took it, wrapping it over their shoulders greedily. “Thanks.”

“You always forget things.  It’s kinda my job to make sure I get them at this point, right?” said Julia. That was what Phoenix liked about their older sister. She was always looking out for them, no matter what.

Julia turned on the sidewalk and looked in either direction. Now that her back was facing them, Phoenix noticed she had a backpack, too. “So, you gonna walk, or are we taking Dad’s car?”

Phoenix started. “Wh- wh- what? We? Dad’s car? Y- y- you’re coming with me?”

Julia sighed, and turned to look at them seriously. “You my fucking baby sibling. There’s no way I’d let you go out all on your own and probably get yourself killed. And besides… I’m a way better driver than you.”

They laughed a bit at that, trying to hold on to the special air of levity the two shared in the face of dark times. That was so like her. “Yeah, ok. But do you even have the keys?”

Julia dug in her pocket, pulling out a ring of keys. “I’m not stupid like you, I get things I need. Also, I have food, money, my license, clothes, and a whole bunch of other shit like chargers you probably didn’t even think about.”

Phoenix looked in awe and love at their big sister, their rock, the one who had always showed them merciless tough love their whole life, standing there in the cold with them. Not because she was kicked out too. Because she wanted to. For them. Because she loved them.

If the next few minutes consisted of hot tears and strangling hugs from both parties, whispered “I love you”s and “It’ll be okay”s and “We’ll take care of each other”s, neither of them mentioned it after.

-

“So… where are we going anyway?”

They had stopped at a gas station about twenty miles out to make sure they were full on fuel before getting going, as well as for last minute supplies.

Julia stopped sipping her Slurpee and shrugged. “You’re the one that got kicked out for bad grades. Where do you wanna go?”

Phoenix considered places they had always wanted to go before deciding on one almost immediately. They had meditated on this particular matter before many times. It wasn’t like they hadn’t almost been kicked out before. It’s just this time it wasn’t… well, almost.

“Los Santos,” they answered.

Julia looked a little surprised for a second before shrugging again. “Uh… okay then.”

They sat in silence for a bit before Julia piped up again. “And uh… why Los Santos?”

“Y’know how we always talked about our ability to do fucking anything we wanted as a team?”

She looked confused, but nodded.

“What if we like… just fuckin’, I dunno. Started a new life? The two of us, we don’t really… well, maybe you, but I at least am not very good at fitting in to the ‘normal people’ standard. I always felt like… like we were meant for something greater. Like we could be something better than anyone else if we just stopped caring about arbitrary shit and actually took advantage of the skills we have.”

“Phoenix,” she cautioned, “Los Santos is… well, it’s Los Santos. I mean, I’m not against what you’re implying here, and to be honest that sounds pretty sick, but… fuck, I mean, I don’t wanna bite off more than we can chew.”

“Well, go big or go home, right?” they said dryly. “Listen, you’re good at talking to people and getting what you want. You’re good at playing up your good points. I’m good at sneaking around and getting the drop on people when they least expect it. We’re both fucking geniuses- no, don’t even start, it’s true, you are- and we can both be utterly deadly if we wanted to be. So I say we cross-country road-trip to find ourselves or whatever, gather up whatever guns, knives, drugs, or whatever we can, and make a game plan. I want them to fear our names so we never have to fear again, and I know you do too.”

By the end of their speech, Phoenix was fully facing their sister, who was looking more and more intrigued. After a moment, they nudged further. “So, what’ll it be?”

Julia appeared pensive for a few minutes. Then she broke out in a grin. “We need a name.”

Phoenix mirrored her. “Let’s get to work, then.”

-

Phoenix sat on the couch in their flat, cleaning one of their favorite knives. It didn’t need to be cleaned, not really, but they liked doing it anyway. It gave them time to just stare at it.

The room smelled like shitty weed and booze, and though they had attempted to find a fragrant candle to get it to smell at least a little better, Julia was not having it.

Phoenix wasn’t one to call out people on their habits, but Julia’s was a little annoying.

Then again, they didn’t blame her. It was hard to want to stay grounded in a city where anyone could be out to get you at any minute. They’d learned a thing or two, and one of those was that you were never quite safe. But personally, Phoenix preferred not to be addicted to things. It was absolutely a fear of relying on something- they admitted that. But sometimes they wish they weren’t so stubborn.

Speak of the devil, Julia sat herself heavily next to her sibling. As the shitty springs creaked under the two’s weight, Phoenix hoped whatever news it was this time wasn’t too bad.

“What’s up?” they asked, careful to not let their anxiety pour into their voice.

Julia sighed before looking up at them. She looked, in a few words, tired and pissed off. “Y’know those weird fans of the Fake AH Crew?” Phoenix nodded. Julia sighed again, leaning back. “Yeah, apparently they’re interested in us now.”

“For fuck’s sakes, really?” they replied, but inwardly they were a little flattered. It was always nice to get some recognition. Although, the insignia “TS” painted in blood with a heart with an arrow through it was, possibly, a bit overkill on their last stealth mission. Emphasis on stealth.

Twisted Siblings wasn’t terribly original, but it worked.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “I have no clue what they want, but I found this on our door when I came back from work last night.” She handed them a note, written in purple font with many loops and a few hearts.

“TS-

We’d love to meet you sometime. We think we can sort some things out that can help all of us. Come meet us at your tiny get-away place a few blocks away tomorrow night. Don’t worry, we don’t bite… usually. (Haha, that was cheesy, but seriously I will wear your skin.)

Love,

-Tia and the Misfits”

Phoenix read it over a few times before handing it back. “Well, it’s certainly not the most threatening note we’ve received.”

Julia folded it and put it on the ground somewhere. “I think it might be worth it. Plus, this Tia left something for us.”

“Something else?” Phoenix asked, curiosity piqued.

Wordlessly, Julia handed them a small pile of photos that made them burst out laughing.

“Okay, it’ll definitely be worth it.”

-

They met in their favorite parking garage at midnight.

A parking garage is a weird thing to have a favorite of, but both Phoenix and Julia found it mostly vacant, so it was nice to go there and dick around when they could. Besides, it was really hard to get concrete to burn for too long.

Standing on an old black stain from a home-made bottle rocket from last Independence Day was a group of three very strange characters.

The first wore a skull mask covering half of her face and a sniper rifle on her back. She stood silently, almost statue-like, but her eyes shown with a cruel cunning behind the mask. The second wore face paint in the likeness of a cat, whiskers and all. A pink crop top and pink bandana completed the “hello kitty murder party” look. Her hand rested on the knife at her hip, but she smiled amiably. The last bore the most striking likeness to the Vagabond their gang was named after. Skull face paint covered most of their features, but Phoenix immediately felt like they were probably a douchebag.

Phoenix, donned in their usual red cloak, stalked somewhat behind their sister, smiling lightly. Julia bore the same faux-confidence, heeled black boots boosting her height and her ego. The cat one stepped forward to greet them, while the other two hung back. Clearly the muscle.

“Hi!” she greeted lightly. “You probably know who we are. We know who you are, after all.”

“Yeah, I’m guessing you’re Tia, right?” Julia asked. She always did the talking.

Cat Girl looked surprised, then burst out giggling. “Nah, that’s not me. I’m Katz. Tia’s not into face-to-face stuff. Those cat photos were definitely me, though." Phoenix snickered, but remained silent otherwise. "Anyway, we have a proposition for you.”

Julia raised an eyebrow, but remained cool. “What do you want?”

“Well, we probably could’ve made this more clear, but we want you guys.”

The Twisted Siblings exchanged a look before Julia turned back to Katz. “You’re gonna have to be more specific.”

Katz spun around, dancing around the two, as she explained. “Well, you two are sort of making a name for yourselves. That stunt you pulled last week with the blood? Gotta be Phoenix’s work, yeah?” Stunned, they nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been watching you guys. We could use your expertise. And a little birdie told us someone has been following the Vagabond, too.”

Julia eyed her sibling, and they shrugged in response, grinning slightly. “Man,” they said, “you got me. I’m a regular fanatic. He’s good at what he does, even if I think I might be slightly better,” they bragged.

Julia gave them another look. It clearly said “what the hell are you doing,” but Phoenix had long since ignored those looks.

Katz stopped prancing around and looked the two squarely in the face. Phoenix noted that she was taller than them, but not their sister. “Are you willing to prove that?”

Julia put a hand on Phoenix’s shoulder before they could answer. “Do you guys even have, like, a selling point?”

Katz only seemed to grow more excited. “Yeah, I mean, we have all this information about you guys. Kind of a no-brainer. We’ve got some assorted talents gathered, and our mods have agreed you two would make some beneficial additions.”

Julia was about to say something, but Phoenix interrupted. “I only ask that I have free access to pyrotechnic materials.” They crossed their arms seriously. This had been a dispute for a few months.

Katz laughed. “Only if you don’t use them on me.”

“I’ll think about it,” Phoenix joked.

They were looking forward to this partnership.


End file.
